Golf Career

With his father, Percy Alliss, among the finest players of his generation, it was perhaps inevitable that Peter would also make a career in golf. Percy hired Peter as his unpaid assistant at Ferndown Golf Club, allowing him time off during midweek to compete in tournaments. With some degree of success in his first professional tournaments,
Peter quickly established himself among the top young players of the time.

Between 1954 and 1969, he won 21 professional tournaments - including three British PGA championships - and was twice winner of the Vardon Trophy. In September 1958, he won the national championships of Italy, Spain, and Portugal in three consecutive weeks.

His first appearance in the Ryder Cup was in 1953, and with the single exception of 1955, he represented Great Britain and Ireland in the event until 1969. He is one of only two father-and-son duos to have represented their country at this level.

He spent just six weeks on the American tour, in 1954, and therefore is known primarily as a commentator in the USA. Peter retired from the professional golf circuit in 1969.

"When it comes to painting a picture with words, he's nothing short of Rembrandt…"

"Alliss [is] one of the finest strikers of the golf ball in the land…"

Daily Telegraph

Broadcasting

Peter made his broadcasting debut way back in 1961, as part of the BBC team covering the Open Championship at Birkdale which was won by Arnold Palmer. His retirement from international golf at the – relatively early – age of 38 led to a full-time career "on the other side of the ropes." By 1978 he was the BBC's chief golf commentator following the death of his co-host and great friend Henry Longhurst.

Peter once claimed he's a golf commentator only because he's "there as an old player, a lover of the game and a good weaver of stories". Modesty would prevent him saying that Golf Digest described him as "the greatest golf commentator ever" – but to many that's what he is.

But it's not only as a commentator that Peter is revered: he became a part of tv history, fronting 140 episodes of the popular BBC series Pro-Celebrity Golf, between 1974 and 1988, and progressed to an informal chat show on the fairways, Around with Alliss. His most recent television series, A Golfer's Travels, is still being shown across the world – and is available on DVD…

Speaking and Presentation

Peter is in constant demand for Speaking and Presentation engagements, he is noted for his depth of knowledge of the game of golf, his wit and 'off-the-cuff' humour.

Personal

Peter was born in Berlin in 1931, the son of the famous British professional Percy Alliss one of Britain's leading players between 1920 and 1939.

He has twice been captain of the Professional Golfers' Association and was the first president of the European Women's Professional Golfers Association, as well as past president of the British Greenkeepers' Association.

Peter is recognised around the world for his television commentaries for ABC in the United States and the BBC in Europe, as well as working for the Australian and Canadian Broadcasting Corporations.